HF153 - In the Shadow of the Temple
To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:17 am
Subject: HF153 - In the Shadow of the Temple
Hebraics,
We often fail to get the full measure of a Scripture portion if we are simply try to read back into the Scriptures the theology we are accustomed to. It is a real challenge to study the Scriptures in their Hebraic thought form, but also to study them within their historical context.
What I would like to do in this study is bring us back to the issue of what John the Baptist, and the disciples, and the Lord Himself meant in saying that the kingdom of God is at hand. Perhaps the study should stir up some discussions.
This is Bible Study HF153 - In the Shadow of the Temple.
Why is it when Jesus performed a miracle, you never hear Him say, 'In the name of the Lord God.' For instance no true prophet ever spoke in his own name. The rabbis knew this. Even when the rabbis taught, they always built their teaching around something a noted rabbi had said. This was to prevent them from presenting a new or strange teaching. Anything taught had to fit into the rabbinical program.
And this is what concerned the Jewish leadership about Jesus. It says, "The crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." (Mt7:28,29) The rulers wanted to know where He got the authority to change the rules. And who was He to presume to speak in His own authority!
The quick answer is that Jesus had no need to link His authority to a prophet. He was God incarnate. This is the key to understanding why Jesus kept startling the religious authorities and the peoples. Even in the Sermon on the Mount, we hear the Lord make this statement, "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' The Lord then cuts across everything by saying, 'But I say to you.'
In fact Jesus said the, 'But I say to you' at least 139 times in the gospels. What does this tell us? It tells us that all the prophetic flowing concerning God's Messiah had reached their apex. It tells us that the King of glory, the Lord Himself was walking in the shadow of the temple. But He was doing more than that. The presence of God had long since left the temple. The Holiest of Holies was empty. Where was the presence? The presence of God Most High was fully manifested in this one we call Jesus Christ.
When the chief priest accosted Jesus about His authority here is how it goes: "By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?" The Lord's response put them on the spot. "The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?" They were in a quandary. Everyone considered John as a prophet. If they said, 'From heaven,' Jesus would then say, "Why then did you not believe him?" If they said "From men", the crowd would turn on them. All they could say was, "We do not know."
The Lord then says, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." The Lord had no need to explain His authority. His kingship did not begin with His birth. The Psalmist said, "Yet God is my king from of old; who works deliverance in the midst of the earth." And again, "But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure His indignation." (Cf. Ps74:12; Jer10:10)
Jesus then begins speaking to the peoples and the Jewish priests by way of parables. He nails the leadership tight, when He said, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone; this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes?'" He continues, "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it."
But what did Jesus mean by the kingdom being removed from the then Israel? When you reject the king, there is no kingdom to be had. The term 'kingdom of God' literally spoke of the direct rule of God. The Jewish leadership had forfeited any right to God's direct rule. Out of this rejection would come a reconstituted Israel.
To appreciate this it is good to understand that the Israel of old had been set aside to be God's mediating kingdom in the earth. Even in all her swings into idolatry and all the evils that plagued her, yet Israel was still God's visible kingdom in the earth. All God's workings in the earth revolved on some level around Israel. That is, until the King Himself arrived on the scene.
In all this we must needs set aside terms like trinity or oneness and simply let the Scriptures speak to our hearts. The Bible has long taught that we have God who cannot be seen and we have God is and has often appeared to men. Thus we have the invisible God and we have the Image of the invisible God, or, the Father and Son. (No matter how you wish to relate to this.)
Let's come back to Jesus as the King of Israel. When John the Baptist began preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," he was announcing the coming King. This is where we need to understand what repent meant to the Jews at that time. To the Jews it meant to turn away from all other authority practices, all they had then trusted in, and turn to the King. The King was in place. The One who had direct rule over all the earth and certainly over Israel, was now among them.
It would not hurt to see how this term still carries the same idea today. Repentance is not wailing at an altar. That is often no more than jail-house blues. To repent literally means a change of mind, which results in a change of direction. When a person truly confesses Jesus Christ and receives Him as their Lord and Savior, this is in fact, the essence of repentance. It is on the bases of repentance that we are given authority to become children of God.
May I press this home --- When we repent and turn to Jesus, this means everything and everyone else in whom we have trusted can no longer hold that same place of absolute trust in our lives. Think about it. How many of us place our allegiance to a denomination to the extent that the denomination becomes our security, our voice from heaven, and the absolute authority over our lives.
Listen to what Jesus said to the religious leaders; "How can you believe, when you seek glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?" And again, "For they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God." (John 5:44; 12:43)
I suggest that the true blessings of God comes when we learn to follow the voice of the King. Jesus said, "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him." (Jn12:26)
None of this is to say that we should not flock ourselves in our respected gathering places. The Lord Himself calls us to be where we should be. But even at that, it is the King Himself who speaks to our hearts wherever we may be and in whatever flock we may attend.
Back to the King -- It is important to understand the purpose of the Law of Moses. The Law was a temporary measure, given to a particular people, under particular circumstances, to deal with the realities of the time, and to give some structure to this people-group so that they could representatively be God's kingdom in the earth.
The Law of Moses was never intended as God's absolute design for His people. The Law was made for a carnal people. This is why you hear Jesus use terms like, "You have heard it said, but I say to you." He is speaking as the King in residence. The Law was designed for an absentee King. Now that the King was present, the covenant of Moses could be set aside. Understand this and you are well on the way to understanding what a true new covenant walk with Jesus is all about.
In the case of the Jesus at that time, the King was in place, but this wasn't to be the final end of things. The prophets had long written about the rejection of the suffering King, but that He would come again as the King of judgment and as the King of victory. Between these two events would be the out gathering of peoples who hearts and souls would belong to the King. These are the people whose allegiance is fully to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus we hear the Psalmist say, "Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way; for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all those to take refuge in Him! [the Church age]" (Ps2:10-12)
Isn't it interesting how these confrontations with the authorities took place in the shadow of the temple. The One who had formerly shown Himself as a brilliant light over the mercy seat, was now walking the temple complex in the person of Jesus Christ. The crowds gathered to hear Him teach. This is why even the temple guards could say, "No man ever spoke like this man." Don't you love the song that says, "At His voice the birds hush their singing.)
Isn't it amazing --- The God of Israel was at the temple itself and the chief priests wanted to do battle with Him. It is no wonder that they were called 'the synagogue of Satan,' or, 'a brood of vipers.' And it all happened in the shadow of the temple. The King was crucified in the shadow of the temple. He resurrected from the dead in the shadow of the temple. And the Spirit of the King was poured out into the hearts of His own people right there in the temple complex. And at the second coming the Lord of glory will return to the same temple mount.
There is much more to be said, but I'll leave off my part for now with this bit. Have you ever wondered where the church itself fits into a reconstituted Israel after the Spirit? Is that even a good term to use? If so, why are we known as Christians and not Israelites?
Think about it. The study is open.
Blessings,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web:
http://www.christianchallenge.org/
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)